BIRDS OF THE HUMBER DISTRICT. 173 



. 



Are usually the last of the Ducks to leave our 

 waters in the spring. I have seen them off the coast 

 in this parish late in May, the very latest occurrence 

 being a single bird, an old male, on the 24th of that 

 month. These Ducks appear to keep in pairs, male 

 and female, throughout the winter, as we invariably 

 find them in mixed flocks composed of about equal 

 numbers of males and females. The Scaup swims 

 high in the water. They are very expert divers, 

 remaining immersed even longer than the Golden- 

 eye ; and I have frequently known them to continue 

 underneath from fifty to sixty seconds. In the evening 

 at dusk, and on moonlight nights, Scaups leave the 

 water and fly up on the flats to feed ; they are then 

 often killed by our gunners who are lying in wait on 

 the muds for Wigeon and Mallard. 



224. FULIGULA CRISTATA (Leach) . The Tufted 

 Duck. 



Provincial. Brass-eyed Poker Duck. 



A common Duck in the Humber during the winter, 

 but not as plentifully distributed as the preceding. 

 Arrives considerably earlier in the autumn than the 

 Scaup. I have seen and shot young birds on our 

 drains as early as the first week in September. 



Speaking of this Duck (Zoologist, 1865, p. 9528), 

 Mr. Boulton says, " I have invariably observed that 

 it is the rarest circumstance possible to obtain a 



